By Narayan Prasad Mishra
We often hear the proverb — experience or practice makes the man perfect. In our childhood, even if we hear about it, it does not have much meaning to us. That may be because our power of thinking and understanding has not developed fully. We find more meaning in it when we get older, can self-evaluate ourselves with a free conscience, and discover what mistakes we made in life because of our lack of knowledge and experience. We get wiser as we get older and older. That is undoubtedly true.
We would not know about summer if we had only winter. In the same way, we would not know about winter if we had only summer. When we experience both, then only we know about them and their differences. The people of Kathmandu Valley hardly know about the snowfall and tornadoes we see in the USA and Europe. We cannot understand most things like that by hearing unless we experience them ourselves.
King Mahendra introduced the partyless Panchayat system after dissolving the then parliament system on December 15, 1960, with the following long speech. He said he had to do this because the Congress government had fostered corruption, promoted party above national interest, and failed to maintain law and order. The people with free conscience who experienced the Nepali Congress government then do not deny the King’s presentation of the speech. However, we hear different views from the party leaders and followers who were privileged. We see the same thing now. Everything is right for the party in government and the privileged party leaders and followers in present-day Nepal. It is Ram Rajya (the perfect rule of the legendary King Lord Ram) for them. Only the general people think the other way.
As an independent citizen and observer, I experienced the Panchayat system fully from its inception to its death in 1990. In general, any system cannot be flawless. So undoubtedly, it also had some flaws and weaknesses but not much compared to the present system. I suffered under its rule and felt injustice when I missed my due promotion in my office despite being senior, more qualified, and dynamic in speaking, writing, and working with honesty, sincerity, and integrity. I experienced Pancha’s dominations and exploitations though not much like now. I saw its flaws and weakness with my telescopic eye, experienced its weaknesses, and felt it intolerable and deplorable. As a result, the following poem was born into my frustrated mind. The poem was published in Naya Nepal Post on November 13, 1983 (Kartic 27, 2040). I think now that the poem correctly illustrates the accurate picture of today’s Nepal than of 1983 (2040 B.S). The poem is also an example of the freedom of speaking and writing during Panchayat, as I had no problem directly with writing and publishing it. It was not as bad as depicted by its critics as a dictatorial system with no freedom of speaking and writing at all. The freedom of speaking and writing was there as long as the crown and Kings were not a topic of criticism. There were some restrictions.
The poem in Nepali
The poem translated into English
I denounce that soil
The place where hard-worker needs to stay hungry
The place where the man of self-respect needs to be degraded
The place where industrious needs to lose courage
I denounce that soil.
The place where the nationalist leader needs to be disrespected
The place where people’s leader is to be hanged
The place where patriot needs to leave the country
I denounce that soil
The place where conspirators and cheaters flourish.
The place where truth speakers are faded
The place where the heart of honesty gets burned.
I denounce. that soil.
The place where knowledge and wisdom decay
The place where dishonesty becomes the name of politics
The place where dictatorship is called People’s wish
I denounce that soil.
About seven years after publishing the above poem, the Panchayat system disappeared, and the multiparty democracy with a parliament system was introduced in the country due to the people’s movement in 1990. I lost my job at 49 despite my unparalleled qualities needed for the country and people in 1992 because I was not involved in political parties. They have created such a situation in the country that the people who do not belong to some parties and carry free thoughts are not human beings and are lower class and untouchables like the community in the caste system. So we became untouchables for the multi parties. My retirement was like a heinous crime done to an innocent man without reason. That injustice done upon me and my beloved wife, Shanti Mishra, was incomparable to the injustice done to me during Panchayat. During Panchayat, I lost only my promotion, but during the democratic multiparty and Koirala Congress government, I lost my job 14 years before retirement.
We have now introduced a new republican system – even different from the 1990’s parliament system. All people are experiencing the present system and its corruption, malpractices, irregularities, nepotism, favoritism, intolerable bad governance, absence of government, foreign interference, price hike and destructive economy, everywhere mismanagement, ethicless and moralless culture — the system where constitutional rights and equal opportunities are available only for the major party people. It is a system where bribing has become part of the culture of the people. Nothing can be done without bribing.
One who has not experienced Panchayat system or the 1990s Parliament system may be like the people who have experienced only winter or only summer and cannot compare with the other. But the one experiencing all three political systems and having a high moral conscience knows the differences. If you are honest with your conscience and have no selfish motive, you are bound to say that people had a much better life and comfortable living during the Panchayat period compared to the 1990s parliament system and the present system, and the country was better in every way. The 1990 parliament system was much better for this country than the present republican system.
If we honestly level the charges against the governments running since 1990, King Mahendra’s words and sentences of the above speech will be mild, soft, and incomplete for this purpose. I am sad to see we are throwing the systems one after another in the name of being progressive and revolutionaries, not evaluating them correctly and pushing the country downwards. So if we are experienced and enlightened now, we should evaluate the contents of the system, whether it is old or new, not only the name. We should be wise in evaluating and choosing the system as we have experienced it in practice. Practice should have made our people perfect now if the proverb works in our country too. Accepting mistakes and adopting truth is undoubtedly the greatness of a good human being. We know only great people can accept their mistakes, not the corruptors, conspirators, and cheaters.
Login to add a comment